Charges in East Bay House race based on shaky TV news story?

East Bay House candidate Ellen Corbett jumped on an “exclusive investigative” TV news report this week when she slammed Democratic incumbent Rep. Eric Swalwell for his “lack of integrity and honesty” in a Congressional pay issue.

One minor problem: the news report wasn’t accurate.

The “exclusive KTVU investigation” from Oakland’s Channel 2 promised to check on whether Bay Area House legislators had kept their word about accepting or rejecting pay during last year’s partial government shutdown.

The piece focused largely on Swalwell, D-Dublin, saying he “sent a letter to the House’s Chief Administrative Officer asking to have his pay withheld.” But, KTVU noted dramatically, “we found out he did get paid.”

The story included quotes from a watchdog group slapping the hands of House members, purportedly Swalwell among them, who don’t play straight with the public.

But a simple Google check might have turned up that Swalwell was on record last year — such as in this story by Comrade Joe Garofoli — saying he wanted to same treatment of his fellow government workers in the shutdown, who were being delayed their pay.In a letter last year to the House Chief Administrative officer, Swalwell asked that “until federal employees who must work during a federal government shutdown are paid, I not be given my paycheck.”

In a September news release, he said the same: “I will refuse my paycheck until federal employees who must work during the shutdown are paid.”

His salary was placed in escrow during the shutdown, and — like other government works — he was paid when it was over.

Still, Corbett this week jumped on the KTVU story, releasing a statement saying that “the public has a right to expect honesty from their elected officials. Thousands of unemployed Californians who are struggling to make ends meet after their benefits were terminated by Congress deserve better.”

We put in a call to Corbett’s campaign manager Parke Skelton for comment, but haven’t received a call back. We will update when we get a response.

Meanwhile, KTVU News Director Lee Rosenthal, contacted about the story, said earlier today he was not aware the press release sent out this week by Swalwell’s office strongly refuting what it called the “false” news report.

But he later called back and said that the station had “updated” the story on its website, removing the quotes from the watchdog group, and other parts, including the “we found out he did get paid” line.